After six years of building an upstart track program in his Highland hometown, between the regional schools of Highland and Triton, and in the shadow of Winslow Township, Timber Creek coach Chris Grottini had a modest record to show.
The Chargers were coming off their best year, a 4-1 season, with their share of standout performances, but no titles. Potential was inside his athletes and that was enough at the time.
The times were a'changin this year, though; he made sure of it.
"Last year he knew he had certain individuals and he wanted to bring the best out of everybody," said senior sprinter Geoff Mock. "And this year, he had a different approach.
Before the season Grottini held a meeting open to all those interested, and shocked some by placing some emphasis on winning and winning now.
"He knew those individuals could win championships, sectional championships, Olympic conference championships, even state championships," Mock said, "and while he still wanted to see everybody do their best, he said 'We're trying to win.'"
Grottini foresaw conference title possibilities within the first dual meet against Seneca, one in which junior Montez Blair, who was coming off a basketball season in which his team played in the state championship, high jumped 6-10.
"We did a nice job and we looked at all the individual performances when we got on the bus," Grottini said. "And we realized that we kind of shortchanged ourselves.
"We don't hang that much on a dual-meet win, but it was at least a start for us where we could look at our performance and compare it with that of the best in South Jersey. Then we thought we could make it bigger that just winning a conference title."
Grottini had experienced his share of winning during his six years as the track and cross-country coach at Wallkill Valley Regional, culminating in a North 1 Group 2 Cross-Country Championship in 2000.
But he saw this cast going even farther.
Before facing any of those Group 3 schools, Timber Creek made some noise within South Jersey by knocking off divisional rival Winslow Township for the first time in school history and snapping their streak of 29 straight dual meet wins.
A 5-0 divisional record and a subsequent conference title – both firsts -- were only the beginning, though.
With their confidence gradually rising with the temperature, seniors Mock, Eric Smith, Dorian Evans, Tyrone Brown and Rob Huckabee and juniors Blair, Mike Short and Saliym Starkey helped the Chargers accomplish the thinkable by winning the South Jersey Group 3 Championship.
Although he was the last and fastest member of the Chargers fourth-place 4x400 relay, Mock said it was Grottini who was the team's anchor.
"If there's something done that's really good, he does this really loud clap for a couple minutes and you know he's satisfied," Mock said. "We want to help to hear that clap. We're driven to hear that clap. It means you know you did good. The coach is right behind you."
A trophy case of sectional titles have come Timber Creek's way this year in wrestling, basketball and baseball, but the Chargers and Grottini, ever the history teacher, have set the watermark by winning the school's first State Group 3 Championship.
For the support and unwavering vision he's displayed this year, Grottini is the 2008 Courier-Post Boys' Track Outdoor Coach of the Year.
He said this success is something that can be built on.
"We have a lot of kids who scored for us who are coming back," he said. "You can't take anything for granted, but I imagine kids who had success this year are certainly going to want to go back and do it again next year."
For now, though, for the first time in six years, Grottini is content in the now.
"Going in and watching these group of kids for several months and in some case several years, to watch them come together and win a state championship … I was extremely proud," he said. "Highlight of the season."
More like 'Understatement of the Year.'
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